Electrical contact device.



K. FANTA & N. WESSELY.

ELECTRICAL CONTACT DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYT. um.

1 ,263,657. Patented Apr. 23,1918.

a vyesses'.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFIOE.

KARL FANTA AND NORBERT WESSELY, OF VIENNA, AUSTRIA, ASSIGNORS TO OSTERREICHISGHE SIEMENS SCH'UOKERT NEE-XE AND REGAL PATENTE GESELLSGHAFT M. B. H., BOTH OF VIENNA, AUSTRIA.

ELECTRICAL CONTACT DEVICE.

Application filed May 7', 1914.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, KARL FANTA and NORBERT Vessnnr, both Austrian subjects, and residents of Vienna, Austria, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Electrical Contact Device, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an electrical contact device in general, and more especially for producing the contacts for controlling the operation of textile machinery according to pattern cards or the like for producing a figured textile such as in the art of weaving, knitting and embroidering. In the present practice of operating machinery of this kind for the contact device small rollers or pins are used especially in such cases where the motion of the feeler is a longitudinal one, such as for instance employed for electrically transmitting patterns or pictures upon a textile fabric. In case such rollers are employed the disadvantage is found that as soon as such a roller is impeded by any reason in its rotary motion for a however short time, a part of the circumference will be worn off, and the roller consequently will not further rotate. This will cause the contact surface to continuously increase which results in an inaccurate contacting and consequent poor working of the machine. If normal pins are used having sharp points the latter will soon be worn down to the full thickness of the pin; or in case thinner pins are employed, the formation of an edge will take place especially in case of a motion to and fro. By the deformation of the feeler pin on the one hand an extremely inaccurate contacting will take place the result being a correspondingly poor reproduction of the original; on the other hand such deformation will soon cause a destruction of the valuable pattern cylinder due to the unfavorable mechanical strain imposed thereupon, said strain resulting in a scratching off of the insulating layers of the same.

According to our present invention these disadvantages are done away with by employing proper devices for imparting to the feeler periodical motions which have the purpose of suppressing the injurious deformation of the point of the feeler. The feelers in this case are swung or rotated around Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1918.

Serial No. 837,014.

axes passing through the contact point of the feeler with the pattern cylinder, as more fully represented in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing Figure 1 shows an elevation of an arrangement according to our present invention, whereby said feelers are swung or rotated as above indicated, Fig. 2 shows the plan view to Fig. 1, Fig. 3 shows a modified arrangement of the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2, Fig. l: a plan View of a construction of the feeler proper, Fig. 5 is a section through Fig. 4 and Fig. 6 shows a construction of the feeler which is provided with a mechanical guiding pin.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the feelers a are built into a frame 0; the contact points 6 are contacting with the pattern cylinder 79, the point of contact being designated by the letter (Z. The frame 0 is arranged to permit oscillation around the journals 6 in such a manner that the axis of rotation will coincide with the connecting line between the contact points (Z, so that the motion of the frame will cause a whipping of the feelers a around the contact points (Z, as indicated by the arrow 1". The motion can be initiated by rotation of the lever g and may be transmitted by means of the rod The feelers a are furthermore provided with wings m which are kept between pins 76 and Z. These pins are mounted within a frame 2' to which a longitudinal motion in the sense of the arrow 8 may be imparted, by which motion the wings on will also be positively moved, so that the pins 66 are rotated around their axes as indicated by the arrow t. In such construction it is essential that the pin during the contacting process or during inter missions of the same be subject to a change of its axle, and preferably to a change of its position and a simultaneous rotation around its axis.

In Fig. 8 the feeler a, is so carried in a part a that during a rotation of this part around an axis passing through the contact point 0Z,, the axis of the feeler or contact pin will move along the surface of a cone having its vertex at the point d,. The rotation of the part it in its guide 1) may for instance be accomplished by the rack w and the gear wheel as, as can be seen from Fig. 3. A sleeve y carrying the feeler pin 2 is in serted into an exterior sleeve 10 having a guide 11 for the pin 2 and a connecting piece 12 for leading in the current. The sleeve 13 projects beyond the sleeve 10 and carries the wing m serving for axial rotation of the feeler. The feeler pin a itself consists of a piece of wire which is of proper length and very thin (for instance .3 mm.) and braces itself against a spring h positioned in the sleeve y, so that the pin to the extent of its wear will always be fed forward at its lower end by the spring h. If the sleeve 10 for instance be fixed in the frame carrying the feeler the sleeve 13 together with the pin 2 may be taken out for repair or replaced by a new one. A guiding pin 14 is further provided on the feeler pin 2, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States z- 1. A device of the class described comprising a feeler, and means for moving said feeler around an axis passing through the contact point of said feeler.

2. A device of the class described comprising a feeler, means for moving said feeler around an axis passing through the contact point of said feeler and means for simultaneously rotating said feeler simultaneously around its own axis.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a hollow carrier sleeve, a wire partly inclosed within and projecting from said sleeve, said wire being so thin as to bend under light axial pressure, and means connected with said sleeve for bracing said wire against bending.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our signatures in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

KARL FANTA. NORBERT WVESSELY. lVitnesses KARL Prrz, KARL RICHTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

